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Looking at Tough Decisions
7/7/2008
Michael Fisher
Area Extension Agent
(Livestock)
Colorado State University Extension
Golden Plains
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This coming weekend is my high school 20th year class reunion. It
is odd how when one hits those milestones in life he/she begins thinking back
to earlier days and trying to relate current situations to experiences from the
past. As an example, when I was fast approaching my high school graduation day,
I was having a hard time deciding which direction I wanted to take my future
career. One of those spring afternoons, as I helped Dad fill the grain drill
with Grandpa's requiem hay mix blend of alfalfa, timothy, orchard grass, red
clover, and oats for the cover crop, Dad explained to me that when he was a few
years older than me he had debated long and hard between farming, becoming a
park ranger, or remaining in the navy. He chose to buy a farm so that he could
be his own boss and make the tough decisions. (Personally, I always had the
impression that Grandpa was the boss but that is another story.)
Last
week that memory came rushing back to me time and time again. I traveled
through all five of the Golden Plains Area counties during the week and in each
I talked with livestock producers who are facing some pretty tough decisions.
The foundation of several of those decisions are based on a combination of
issues including dry rangeland conditions, grasshopper outbreaks, deteriorating
cow conditions, staggering feed & fuel costs, and projected shortages in
winter feedstuffs.
My former boss (AKA: Grandpa) would have looked at
this situation and said one of his notorious lines like, "Well fellers, I got a
big idea that it's time to sharpen the pencil." And he would have been correct.
Dr. Sandy Johnson reported in the July 2008 issue of Beef Tips that cow-calf
production costs have increased 25 percent since 2005, to an expected $750 plus
for 2008. When input costs are at that level and producers face the added
challenges that this summer is throwing at them one has to carefully look at
alternatives and make some tough choices.
If you are struggling with the
previously mentioned issues, some questions that you may want to ask
yourself:
Rangeland forage production is low and grasshoppers are taking
half of it: Should I consider selling some of the poorer performing cows? Do I
know who the poor performers are? What will that do to my capital gains come
tax time? Can I get a cheap alternative feed and drylot cows? Can I adapt my
grazing management to improve forage production?
My cow herd's average
body condition is deteriorating: Once again, can I find a feedstuff that I can
afford to feed them? If so, how much is it going to cost me to haul it out to
the pasture? Should I consider an early weaning strategy? If so, should I sell
light calves or try to find a way to feed them? Is creep feeding the calves a
possibility in today's ag economy? If the herd's condition continues to slide,
how much will this hurt calf health, calf performance, and cow reproduction
next year? How long and how costly will it be to get the cows' BCS
back?
Record input costs: How much is my per cow costs? If I have to
feed can I use an alternate day feeding schedule? How much am I paying per
pound of crude protein or pound of energy versus filler? Do you suppose Susie's
barrel horse and Timmy's roping horse would pull a feed wagon? (Just kidding
Susie & Timmy.)
Plus seven dollar corn and two hundred per ton hay
to get ahead of a winter feed shortage: Can I buy an alternative feed like
distiller's grain and store it for winter? Can I plant a short season forage
like pearl millet, cereal grain haylage, or brassicas behind my wheat harvest?
Can I pool some resources with neighbors to bid a volume purchase on
feedstuffs?
OK, so this article has asked a lot of questions without
supplying any answers. That was intentional. If you are looking at one or more
of these issues as a problem on your ranch, I hope that you are asking yourself
lots of questions. If we only answer one question we are no longer making the
tough decisions; we are no longer the boss. With only one question & answer
we are getting lucky, or not, and the problem is still the boss.
Over
the next couple of weeks I plan to address a couple of the questions listed
above in more detail in my weekly article. If you wish to discuss one or more
of these questions in detail, Michael Fisher can be reached through the Yuma
County Extension office at 970-332-4151 or by e-mail at
mj.fisher@colostate.edu. |
Page Created and Maintained by: Perry D. Brewer, Area
Extension Agent (Technology Education/Youth)
7/8/2008 |
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